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Castle Mountain Mine

Producer in San Bernardino county in California, United States with commodities Gold, Clay
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10085019
MRDS ID W700451
Record type Site
Current site name Castle Mountain Mine
Alternate or previous names Castle Mountain Project, Jumbo South, Lesley Ann, Oro Belle
Related records 10164473

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -115.10777, 35.28057 (WGS84)
Elevation 1524
Location accuracy 100(meters)
Relative position 3.7 MI. S. OF HART PEAK, AT THE SOUTH END OF CASTLE MOUNTAINS, Acc. Within The Pit As Orally Reported By Viceroy Resources.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

San Bernardino(county)

California(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Hart Peak(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Ivanpah(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Kingman(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Piute Wash(hydrologic unit)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic accounting unit)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States California San Bernardino

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
San Bernardino 014N 018E 18,19 California

Comments on the location information

  • UTM EST. SW 1/4 SW 1/4 SECT.18, NW 1/4 NW 1/4 SECT. 19

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Clay Secondary

Comments on the commodity information

  • GOLD AVERAGES 10 MICRONS IN SIZE BUT RANGES FROM 1 TO 2000 MICRONS.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Clay Ore
Electrum Ore
Gold Ore
Quartz Gangue

Alteration

  • (Local) Strong Silicification, Argillization, Adularia

Analytical data

Result AU:AG = 1:2 OVERALL BUT 2:1 IN CORE OF DEPOSIT

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Volcanic Ash
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Latite
    Rock unit name Castle Mountain Volcanics
    Rock description Castle Mountain Volcanics
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock

Nearby scientific data

(1) -115.10777, 35.28057
ListMap

Economic information

Ore body information

  • Strike NE
    Dip 60 SE

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Nne Trending Structures And Permeable Rhyolite Breccia Zones Surrounding Rhyolite Domes.

Comments on the geologic information

  • SILICIFIED AND MINERALIZED ARCUATE FRACTURES SUGGEST THAT THE DEPOSITS LIE NEAR THE CENTER OF A SMALL CALDERA, OR COLLAPSED VOLCANO. ONE DEPOSIT, BURIED BY AS MUCH AS 300 FEET OF GRAVEL, WAS DISCOVERED BY GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION. (LINDER, 1989)

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Significant No
Discovery year 1907
Discoverer Discoverer - Anonymous In Early 1900'S. More Recent (1980'S) Discovery By Harold Linder, Consultant.

Mining district

District name Hart

Ownership information

  • Type Joint Venture Owner-Op
    Owner Viceroy Gold Corp.
  • Type Joint Venture Partner
    Owner Viceroy Resources Corp.
    Interest 75
    Home office 880-999 West Hastings St., Vancouver, Bc V6c 2w2
  • Type Joint Venture Partner
    Owner Mk Gold
    Interest 25
    Home office Boise, Id

Comments on the production information

  • ORE SHIPPED (3000-4000 TONS, AVG $1 2/TON IN GOLD) ONLY IN THE EARLY 1940'S. NO PRODUCTION RECORD FOUND. INITIAL PRODUCTION ANTICIPATED BY EARLY 1989 AT 108,000 OZ/YR AU.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • ESTIMATED RESERVES OF 1,150,000 OUNCES GOLD PROVEN AND PROBABLE AND 620,000 OUNCES OF GOLD POSSIBLE, FOR A TOTAL OF 1,770,000 OUNCES OF GOLD. THE INTEREST INCLUDES THE ORO BELLE (MRDS #M023611), JUMBO SOUTH, AND LESLEY ANN DEPOSITS AND THEIR EXTENSIONS.

Comments on the workings information

  • LARGE SCALE OPEN PIT, HEAP LEACH OPERATION. AVERAGE STRIP RATIO 2.14:1. PRODUCTION 8,000 TONS PER DAY OR 2.8 MILLION TONS PER YEAR. GOLD MINING IN 1915-1920 WAS DONE VIA A 700' DEEP SHAFT WITH A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 700' OF CROSSCUTS AND STOPES.

Comments on development

  • DISCOVERED IN 1907; WENT BUST IN 1910 WHEN HIGH-GRADE ORE RAN OUT. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO REACTIVATE GOLD PRODUCTION. PROSPECTED AGAIN IN THE 1980'S FOR LOW GRADE GOLD. RESERVES WERE PROVEN AT 3 OF THE 6 OREBODIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED DURING THE 1980'S EXPLORATION. ; ECON.COM: VICEROY POURED FIRST GOLD ON FEB 17,1992. EXPECTED PRODUCTION 100,000 OUNCES THE FIRST YEAR INCREASING TO 160,000 OUNCES IN THE FOURTH YEAR. THE PROPERTY HAS POTENTIAL TO OPERATE AT THIS LEVEL UNTIL THE YEAR 2004. (VICEROY GOLD CORPORATION HAS BEEN A LEADER IN ESTABLISHING GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES FOR DEVELOPING, OPERATING, AND PREPARING FOR FUTURE CLOSING OF THE MINE).

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, JUNE, 1988, P. 44.

  • Deposit

    CAPPS, R.C., AND MOORE, J.A., 1990, GEOLOGIC SETTING OF MID MIOCENE GOLD DEPOSITS IN THE CASTLE MOUNTIANS, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AND CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA: IN RAINES, G. L., LISLE, R.E. ET AL. EDS, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT BASIN SYMPOSIUM, RENO, NV, 1990 PROCEEDINGS; P. 1195-1219.

  • Deposit

    WRIGHT, L.A., AND OTHERS, 1953, MINES AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF SAN BERNARDINO CO., CA., TABULATED LIST: CALIF. JOUR. MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 49. NOS. 1&2, P. 51-52.

  • Deposit

    LINDER, HAROLD, 1989, HART MINING DISTRICT, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY V.42, NO.6, P. 134-140, 143.

  • Deposit

    BURNETT, JOHN, 1993, THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA - 1992: CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY V.46, NO. 3 P. 74-75.

  • Deposit

    MINING RECORD, APRIL 24, 1991.

  • Production

    WRIGHT (1953) ENGINEERING AND MINING JOURNAL, JUNE, 1988, P. 44.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit EARLY DEVELOPMENT WORK DONE ABOUT 1915-20. MILLED AT NEARBY VALLEY VIEW MINE. DURING THE 1920S AND 1930S THERE WAS MAJOR PRODUCTION OF HIGH GRADE CLAY FROM HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION ZONES IN AND AROUND THE GOLD DEPOSITS. THE CLAY WAS USED TO PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY CLAY PRODUCTS SUCH AS TOILETS, SINKS, AND FLOOR TILE.
Deposit INFORMATION FROM THE ORO BELLE RECORD #M023611 HAS BEEN INCORPORATED (NOT MERGED) INTO THE CASTLE MOUNTAIN PROJECT. IT IS ONE OF THE SIX DEPOSITS OF MRDS #W700451.
Deposit ZONES ALONG FRACTURES. SIX INDIVIDUAL DEPOSITS ASSOCIATED WITH RHYOLITE DOME, DOME COMPLEXES, AND SILIFICIED FRACTURE ZONES. CUT BY ZONES OF BROKEN CLAY-RICH ROCK. MINERALIZATION RELATED TO PERMEABILITY OF HOST ROCKS. WATER TABLE AT DEPTH OF 550 FEET, ALL RESERVES IN OXIDIZED ZONE ABOVE THAT DEPTH.
Deposit Discovery Year: 1907; 1980'S FOR LATEST ACTIVITY

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-88 Paidakovich, Matthew E. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-SEP-91 Moyer, Lorre A. (Doebrich, Jeff L.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-JUL-93 Moyer, Lorre A. (Marcus, S.M.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-NOV-93 Marcus, S. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

External references

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative California resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.